Bay Of Plenty Beacon Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1949 SPORTS FACILITIES

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 13, Issue 61, 7 March 1949, Page 4

Bay Of Plenty Beacon Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1949

SPORTS FACILITIES

At the risk of being accused of giving too much importance to frivolous things, we propose on this occasion to discuss local sport and sports facilities. First, let us say that we do not consider sport a frivolous thing. It is, in fact, one of the main character - building influences amongst young people, and has become such an essential part of the British way of life that the tradition of British sportsmanship is known and respected the' world over. Principles of honesty, decency and clean living can be absorbed by the young more easily from competitive games than from most other activities, and sports organisations, if they are run on the right lines, can contribute much to the general standard of citizenship in any community. That type of influence is not as strong here as it • could be, largely because our sports facilities leave a lot to be desired. There is, for instance, no public swimming bath, and few will* attempt to deny that swimming is a useful accomplishment. Many are the lives that are saved every year by rescuers who learned their swimming in .sports in public swimming baths. There are football fields—as yet for Rugby football only—but there is no provision for the comfort of the spectators who provide the money that keeps the sport going. Our Domain, as one or two members of the Chamber of Commerce pointed out last week, is a pretty sorry mess. That does not seem to be because there have been no efforts made to improve it. There is ample evidence of public interest in such projects, but it seems impossible to get any definite action from the authorities concerned. Several month's ago the Minister of Internal Affairs visited Whakatane. and verbally approved of the proposition put to ; him by local body representa- j tives here that the Domain | should be developed as a war j memorial community centre — j subject to certain conditions. j Later, 'the Borough Council■ prepared the scheme in writing and sent it forward for Government approval for subsidy, suggesting that the necessary work j be carried out in two stages: i

First, the development of the playing fields; aPd second, the provision of the community centre buildings. Though the Council made three attempts to get a definite yea or nay from the Government, the matter is'‘still in abeyance. But it is persistently rumoured that a similar scheme advanced by Opotiki has been approved. For years now sports bodies themselves have been interested in the possibility of developing the Domain and, before the war; put over a queen carnival effort to raise funds for the purpose. . War interfered before the last carnival was finished, and the whole matter was shelved in the general concern over more vital things. But now memories are stirring again, and people are wanting to know when the bodies concerned are going to get together again to decide what is to be done with the money that was collected (and which is believed to be still held in trust) and how much further plans for the development of our playing areas can be pushed'.